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Biomedical subjects

R M Leech

Publications and source records attributed to R M Leech.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1970

Photoreduction of alpha-Ketoglutarate to Glutamate by Vicia faba Chloroplasts.

Intact chloroplasts isolated from leaves of Vicia faba L. var. the Sutton show a decline in the endogenous level of alpha-ketoglutarate upon illumination. alpha-Ketoglutarate supplied to the chloroplasts is similarly utilized in this light-dependent reaction, and its consumption is paralleled by a concomitant increase in the level of glutamate. There is no photostimulation of glutamate synthesis in chloroplasts broken by osmotic shock, but it can be somewhat restored by addition of ferredoxin and NADP. These results suggest that in the isolated chloroplast the synthesis of glutamate from alpha-ketoglutarate is regulated by the availability of reduced pyridine nucleotide generated by photosynthetic electron transport. This conclusion is supported by the finding of an apparent competition between the photoreduction of phosphoglycerate to triose phosphate and the photoutilization of alpha-ketoglutarate.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1968

Chloroplast and cytoplasmic low-molecular-weight ribonucleic acid components of the leaf of Vicia faba L.

1. A method for the extraction of plant nucleic acids and their separation on methylated-serum-albumin-kieselguhr columns is described. It is demonstrated that the characteristics of the elution profiles of material from the same source are consistently reproducible. 2. Major dissimilarities were found in the elution profiles of nucleic acids from root and from leaves of Vicia faba L. These dissimilarities were confirmed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. Four distinct types of low-molecular-weight RNA were demonstrated to be present in leaves, clearly distinguished by their behaviour when chromatographed on methylated-serum-albumin-kieselguhr columns. (a) Both cytoplasmic and chloroplast ribosomes contained a low-molecular-weight RNA, and these components were distinct from each other. (b) The chloroplast possessed a unique ;soluble' RNA (i.e. RNA that is not precipitated by centrifugal forces that sediment ribosomes) which was not present in the rest of the cell. (c) A soluble component, probably transfer RNA, was found in both the chloroplasts and in the cytoplasm. 4. The components distinguishable by methylated-serum-albumin-kieselguhr column chromatography could not be distinguished by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation.

Carbon Isotopes↗